County level disaster preparedness and response for persons with mobility impairments: results from the University of Kansas, nobody left behind study

According to Glen W. White, PhD, Director of the Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas, “A common theme emerging from 9/11 is there are virtually no empirical data on the safe and efficient evacuation of persons with disabilities in disaster planning.” The media heightened our awareness of this problem from the reports of many individuals with disabilities trapped in the World Trade Center Towers during the 9/11 disasters. While such acts of terrorism are rare, other catastrophic events, such as floods, tornados, hurricanes, and fires are more frequently experienced across this nation and can lead to tragic results. This deficit in the literature reflects a deeper chasm of emergency services agencies that are under-prepared to assist people with physical disabilities during the potentially devastating natural and technological disasters that regularly occur in this nation.